The Weight of Blood (86)

He didn’t seem to process the sobs and flames surrounding them. All he cared about was Maddy.

“No, no . . . you gotta help her,” he quavered.

“What?”

“We did this,” he insisted. “We did this to her. This is all on us. I promised her everything would be alright.”

Outraged, Wendy scoffed. “Kenny . . . all our friends are dead! All of this is because of her!”

“Naw. All of this is because of what happened to her.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know where she is,” she snapped.

“You can find her.”

Wendy ignored him, wringing her makeshift towel dry.

Kali reached over and grabbed her wrist. “Can you for once in your life do something for someone else that isn’t motivated by your own gain? That isn’t completely self-serving?”

Wendy balked just as the room stirred. Rashad ran back into the hall, standing in the middle of the dance floor, cradling a broken arm. “Maddy ain’t outside,” he announced. “She’s gone to town. The coast is clear, and cars are working now. They’re telling everyone to drive to Greenville, where it’s safe.”

“But . . . my mom and dad,” someone cried.

“They called for backup. State troopers. They’ll be here soon. They’ll get her. But we gotta move. This place about to burn up.”

Kenny grabbed Wendy’s hand, pulling her closer. “Please, Wendy,” Kenny begged. “Please, help her before it’s too late. I’ll do whatever you want. Just help her.”

Wendy’s heart sank as she stared into his mangled face. He’d risk anything for Maddy. Meaning he’d never love Wendy the way he loved Maddy. Tears stabbed her eyes. “I can’t,” she blubbered. “She hates us. I can’t . . .”

He gripped her hand, his voice hoarse but insistent. “You’re. Not. Jules.”

Wendy stilled, glancing at the white paint splatters on the stage, and finally realized what Kenny had been saying all along—he didn’t mean she would never live up to Jules’s beauty and intoxicating allure. He meant that she was nothing like Jules.

She was better than Jules.

Wendy met Kali’s eyes. “But . . . I don’t know where she is or how to find her.”

Kali shrugged. “Where would you want to go if you were her?”

The muscles around her neck tightened as the answer popped in her head. Even if Maddy killed her, what did she have left to lose? She’d lost everything that mattered already.

Wendy didn’t say another word. She got up, walked to her car, and drove away from the Barn in search of the girl who had stolen her future.





Twenty-Six


FROM THE SWORN TESTIMONY OF JUDE FRIEDLANDER

I didn’t hear the alarm right away. Don’t even think it was the alarm that woke me up. It was . . . something else. Like . . . intuition.

Anyway, I heard the alarm and tried to turn on my bedside light and everything else in the house. No dice. Tried calling my neighbor Candace to see if she had power, but the phones were out. I left my cell in my truck since I don’t really need it once I’m inside. As soon as I opened the front door, the first thing I smelled was smoke. Knew something was wrong right away. I thought, if that plant’s about to blow, then it was about time I get the hell on out of Dodge. I jumped into my truck and that’s when I saw her. Maddy. Could barely recognize her under all that paint and hair, but I knew her well enough. Bought a few things from her daddy’s store.

She was walking kind of funny, feet dragging, her heels scraping against the road. I’ll always remember the sound they made. So dang loud.

Looking around, I realized I wasn’t the only one out there seeing what I was seeing. The whole neighborhood was standing in their jammies and robes, just watching. No one said a word. None of us even asked her if she was alright. Think we were all so stunned. At one point, she just stopped dead in the road. And I swear to you, everyone gasped at the same time. She stood there for a couple of seconds, then turned around, looked at each one of us, saying nothing.

Then, she raised her hand, snapped her fingers, and there was some type of sizzling from the power line before every single tree on our block burst into flames. It happened so fast. Folks started screaming and scrambling. Branches were falling on houses and cars. I was already in my truck, so I hightailed it out of there. Got downtown and saw the whole place was up in smoke. Nothing left to do but head for the highway. I was about ten miles out when I finally saw the cavalry from Greenville on its way. A state trooper stopped me, asked if I was coming from Springville. I couldn’t even get a word out. I was shaking like a leaf so bad.

My house is gone. Most of my neighbors are gone too, all burned up. They say I was one of the lucky ones. I say, ha! Tell that to my nightmares.

Transcript of the Local FOX 5 Breaking News

June 1, 2014

There have been reports of riots in the town of Springville tonight. Witnesses say a group of protestors threw bottles at police officers, which led to a series of fires in the area.

Wait. We have just received word of a freight train on its regular route that has derailed into the town’s power grid.

No word on any casualties.

**Emergency Alert System**

ATTENTION SPRINGVILLE RESIDENTS